Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-01-21

"Anu 60 you want to get INTO the
habit Of pulling your own way in every
thing; Wcll!-a nice hitch that would
make You do not love me at all Good
by-aud good-by forever
She threw her arms around his neck,
and clung to him; he strove to push her
away from him, but she would not let
him loose, and she cried out:
open my breast and look at my
heart! have nothing there but you
only you'll can say nothing more. ~
II don't want to hear words; l want
to see actions. Prove to me once-just
once-what you have been telling me at
least a thousand timesn'
IF you could only understand my
Florif' she answered and her eyes seemed
to become larger-"if you could only I'M
derstand, l would say yes quick enough
what difference could that make? You
love me; what does everything else mat
ter!-without you, ] am nothing now
But if you rivet yourself to me to-day by
a chain of iron; tomorrow, perhaps,
your life and your happiness will no
longer be your own
They will belong to you! I will
marry you!''
You will marry me-yes l believe
you will. But will it be for love or from
necessity? l want to know you are act
ing of your own free will when you take
my hand before the altar"
THAT will do, Brona Everybody is
betrothed fifteen days before the we'd
ding. and the pledge is as binding as the
blessed stole itself to those who are hon
est Now, Brona, pledge myself this
day to marry you.'
And you actually think you will be
able to marry in two weeks from today"
Il should like to know who is going to
prevent me.
"Who is going to prevent you? The
emperor
The emperor"
You are 81 years old, and you may
be drawn in the conscription three weeks
from now.
"What are you talking about. Brona?
You know am an only son; my parents
are Old and broken down; the farm is
very large one. shall not have to serve
at all.
you will not have to become SOL
dier!' exclaimed the young girl with
cry of joy.
No! no! no! And now again let me
ask you, when is the wedding to come
orr
She did not answer. But when she
left the wood dazzled by that great af-
ternoon sun of June, she had said Eyes. "
Old Schwandhofer was one of the
wealthiest farmers in the canton. He
had once been straight and strong IS the
tower Of lis farm. Only the weight of
his seventy years had been able to bend
him, but he had been humbled by their
power; he could not walk without the
help of cane and his hands trembled;
his will alone remained solid, and direct
ed everything in the house. His wife
was his worthy companion She had
been twenty, he forty years of age whom
they were married. He had cared well
for her, had brought her up from child
and loved her as a woman.
Now, it was she that was really the
man, and he the child. 1t had taken the
old farmer a very long time to UNDER
stand that the will of his wife had be-
come strong by comparison with his
own; that she had learned both to think
and to act as he did. People said that
they owned a good deal of money. Some
even said that money owned them. En-
vious people, of course-such as exist in
all parts Of the world.
The old couple had never done harm to
any one; but they bad no heart; none of
that heart which does so much good in
the world, and so much evil likewise
The birth of their son Ought to have
changed them a little; but it was too
late-their feelings had been dried up.
They only felt the JOY of interest; they
neither knew how to love him nor to
make themselves loved by him. The
young man was upright of character like
his parent; but he was also headstrong
and stern like they We're.
Old Schwandhofer was certainly not
inclined of his own free will to make
over the farm to his son? When peas
ant cedes his property, he too often
yields up his liberty as well; he becomes
a mere drudge, the servant of his own
son. sometimes almost beggar, obliged
to ask for bread in the very house which
he himself built. "Flori is too young,
he thought; "when young men are
masters, they are apt to live too high,
and to think of nothing except showing
that they are masters; they eat up all
they have very soon, and more, toor'
So old Schwandhofer used to say.
But one day the village magistrate said
to him. "Flori is 81; and with such a
frame as he has, they'll soon be wanting
to make a cuirassier out of him. If YOU
want to save him from becoming a SOL
der, you'll have to make all the property
over to him."
1t was the wife that suffered most at
hearing this. She did not want to
let the farm go; but she did not want
her son to go either. Then the husband
said: We've got to make up our minds
to do it. I'm going to make the farm
over to the boy; but I'll make him under
stand that cession of property doesn't
mean cession of mastery"